Sydney is benefiting from a surge in fully independent travellers from Asia – and particularly India – according to global travel distributor GTA. Indeed, a 100% increase in the number of room nights booked for Indian travellers has been attributed to the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which started on 14 February as well as Chinese New Year.

It follows a hugely successful year for the Australian city as the number of room nights booked through GTA in 2014 rose 37% on the previous year. Sydney was also a top destination choice over Chinese New Year with more than 80 events over two weeks. The spectacular Twilight Parade of 3,000 people, Chinese acrobats, floats and spectacular lighting, as well as Lion dances, dragon boat racing tournament and more were watched by 130,000 people and meant hotels enjoyed more than 90% occupancy.

Thanks to established sales teams in mature and emerging source markets throughout Asia, GTA is well-placed to drive fully independent travel from the region into Australasia. Sydney in particular has enjoyed growth from a number of Asian source markets in 2014. The number of room nights booked for travellers from mainland China and Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand all showed double digit growth. That growth trend is continuing with the first quarter of 2015 already up 16%. So far, room nights booked for Thai travellers have increased almost four-fold and more than doubled for Indian travellers. Room nights booked for travellers from China, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan are also enjoying double digit increases compared the same period of 2014.

Nicole Watson, GTA’s Market Manager for Hotel Sourcing, Sydney, says: “Sydney is definitely proving to be a hotspot for Asian travellers right now, judging by the success we are enjoying. Events like the Cricket World Cup and better visa processing have helped raise the profile of the destination and made travel even easier, while increased air capacity has drawn even more Chinese visitors.”